Childhood Memories of a Lost Age
by Glenshadow9
Summary: "I have made my choice. I name you Shruikan, Partner.' Shruikan hummed with satisfaction. 'Shruikan... I like that name.' He loved his Rider - and he was happy, because he would always be with her."
1. Kvetha Fricai

Hais :) I hardly have time to write my stories, much less update them... Bah! Homework, exams, textbooks... Why can't they all just _disappear_? They eat up all my time. :(

Anyway I've got a bit of a block (I know, already) with Alalea and I'm in the process of chipping away at it - that takes an awful lot of time than I expected - and so I'm still on the first two lines of the new chapter. *scowls*

The bottomline is, _I'm stuck._

I came up with this story while I was chipping - I just thought it might be worth typing out, so I tried it - here it is. It was a bit confusing to write (type, technically), but I just hope you enjoy it. ;)

Oh wait - just to inform you, most of the "he"s mentioned in this chapter refer to Shruikan-unnamed-yet. Sorry if it leads to any confusion...

* * *

**Chapter 1 - KVETHA, FRICAI**

Just one more, tiny push…

_Crack._

Cold-sting-fresh air hit his lungs, filling them, burning them with an intensity he had never felt before -

Bright-blinding-yellow-beam light filled his vision, leaving behind streaks of such colours as he had never seen before.

He stretched – his limbs were thin and scrawny, his tail like a piece of string waving feebly. Tiny sparkling scales covered his body like so many links of a fine mail, glittering like polished black adamant. His crumpled wings slowly unfolded, still warm and damp, casting a slight shadow over him.

Everything was suddenly so bright, so full of life, so… _beautiful_.

He loosed a puff of smoke from his nostrils, much to his own surprise. How had he done that? What was that strange puffy substance that floated as if with no weight?

He swatted it with his foreleg, and it broke and wafted away into thin air.

He stared, puzzled.

And then he felt a _Presence _– a being other than himself, surrounded by a surprised, hot-muddled-cold air.

He clumsily swung his head round towards where he'd felt it. Yes, something was there – it was huge, so much bigger than himself.

But he was not afraid. The figure felt strangely familiar, as if he had known it all along.

"Kvetha fricai."_ Greetings, friend._

The voice echoed and rang in his ears. His blood warmed. He understood – but who was this?

Caution forgotten, he crawled forward and curiously sniffed at the figure, and immediately recoiled, nose wrinkled. It smelled strange. Whatever it was, he knew it was not like him, yet not unlike enough to kindle fear. Just curiosity.

Then the figure moved into the light – _what a strange creature_, he thought.

It had two legs – not four, not six, but _two_. He wondered how it even managed to stay upright. It had an angular, flat face and two pointed ears that protruded at an odd angle from the side of its head. Its limbs were long, and its movements lithe and flowing. It was a both strange and admirable creature, but not something he wanted to be.

As he watched more of them began to appear, like wraiths from the shadows. Their mouths were stretched wide to either side, and they seemed to be making strange noises. After a while he decided that these creatures stretched their mouths to look wider when they were pleased. He released a puff of smoke. _What a strange thing to do._

Then a two-legs, the one that spoke to him, slowly, deliberately moved forward and stretched out its hand.

An icy chill blast hit him and he snarled, his blood like frozen fire. His very flesh _burned. _His legs gave way and he collapsed on his belly.

His whole body tingled as he slowly got up. His limbs were aching as if he had gone through some strenuous exercise. He was shaking uncontrollably. His head was spinning from confusion-muddled-shock.

The two-legs had somewhat collapsed too, or so it seemed. It was difficult to tell when it looked so different from him.

Something pressed against his mind, ignoring the supposed-barriers that armoured it.

_Another consciousness. _He cautiously touched it, curious. The consciousness seemed as shocked as his own – with a jolt he realized it was the two-legs-pointed-ears in front of him.

He studied its consciousness closely. The thing that puzzled him most was the obvious delight that emanated from within the consciousness like a sun. _A sun?_ He thought, puzzled further. _What's that?_

The two-legs was definitely older than he was. It was… _female_? Yes, whatever that was. He gave a slight growl. All this was so confusing. How had he come to know all these things? And if he knew them, why did he not know _about_ them?

_Kvetha Fricai. _The repeated words emanated from the two-legs. No, not _two-legs_. An Elf.

_Elf_?

He let out a frustrated growl. Smoke streamed from his nostrils. He seemed to have memory which he should not posses. What was going on?

His belly growled. He was _hungry_. He wanted something to eat. He sent it through the link in his consciousness with the elf.

She blinked. Then another two-legs-pointed-ears-elf stretched its mouth – _smiled_, and looked up.

Strong wind buffeted him, suddenly picking up from nowhere. A shadow fell over the _clearing_, and something enormous dropped from the sky. It landed with a resounding boom that jarred his bones.

A _presence _entered his mind – a vast, powerful being. _A dragon_.

It swept aside his attempts to flee from it like dead leaves before an autumn storm – he wondered if it even noticed his efforts. It said, _Greetings, young one. Welcome to our order. _He understood it perfectly – it was a male adult, judging by the feel of its consciousness. _My name is Umaroth. My Rider is Vrael. _

He immediately felt resect for the older dragon. _Rider? _He asked, curious.

The white dragon blinked. _I see you have already been Bonded with your Rider._

A flood of memories and images passed into his mind from Umaroth's. Memories older than he could measure. The knowledge of a hundred years. History so ancient he could hardly understand. He gasped. _I – what – why –_

_You are now part of an ancient society, forged by our many predecessors who fought hard to win peace._ Umaroth turned to the elf. _You must not let them down. Great expectations lie upon you both._

"Yes, … Ebrithil," The elf said. "I understand." He sent a similar message through his link with Ancient-Dragon-Umaroth.

_Good, _the dragon rumbled. _Now we have a very important matter to decide upon. This is for both of you to discuss – and both of you only. You must understand that I cannot interfere with this ceremony. _

He wondered what it might be, but waited patiently for Umaroth to explain. The huge dragon turned to face him. _You must receive a name, so that we may address you by it. Choose well, for you will carry it with you for the rest of your life, and shall be known by it._

He blinked – it had never occurred to him that he needed a name, but he realised it would be necessary, essential, if he were to perform his duties as a Rider's dragon. He dipped his head. _I understand_.

Ancient-Dragon-Umaroth now looked at the elf. _But before that, I think you should introduce yourself to your new life-partner, Lírya. I take it that you haven't spoken to him yet? _he said. The elf, Lírya, shuffled uncomfortably under his powerful gaze. "No… not properly, Ebrithil. I was much surprised when I was chosen, among all the elves, as a Rider. I never expected such an honour…"

_Then you must introduce yourself now, before any more events come to pass. Immortal as our races may be, time still flies the same. We cannot sit idly all day._

_Yes, Ebrithil. _Lírya bowed her head respectfully to the dragon. She turned to him. _Greetings. My name, as you have heard, is Lírya. I'm very glad to meet you. It is an honour beyond words to be chosen by a dragon as its Rider. I fairly hope that we get along well. _She smiled warmly.

He returned her warmth – he felt very much the same way. Lírya paused. Her smile widened; _I have made my choice. __I name you Shruikan, Partner._ Shruikan hummed with satisfaction. _Shruikan… I like that name. Thank you, Lírya._

Umaroth extended his consciousness to encompass all the elves in the clearing.

_It has been decided. From today forth you shall be known as Shruikan. Shruikan, Lírya, I welcome you as a Rider and Dragon into our ranks on behalf of the Order._

And so the ancient ritual of Dragon and Rider was completed.

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Thanks for reading! Please feel free to review. ;)


	2. Partner-of-His-Mind-and-Soul

Hais :)

So.., I finally managed to finish one simple chapter. Ah, where does all the time in the world disappear to?

Time is a stupid b*tch (forgive me for swearing, but I'm really hating her that much right now). I wish I could barbeque her stupid ancient head on a toilet brush as appetizer for blueberry marshmallows.

Did I mention that I reeeally dislike blueberries? Anyway now you know. If you care to know, that is. It's not an important fact, really, just random babbling.

Anyway back to the story, it's gotten a little bit easier now that Shruikan's gotten a name, but now I have to check myself before I add all sorts of complicated metaphors which include nonexistent objects (I mean, like computers and stuff) and names (like Abe Lincoln, for instance, though that's more of a joke if anything because I hate history, but some yet-to-be-mentioned places and characters like Du WeldenVarden and all), and Alagaesia history (which I quite like, surprisingly. Why don't they have THAT for history exam? Then i might just get high marks).

Okay now moving on before I babble the sun down.

Just hope you enjoy, and very sorry for the delay.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - PARTNER-OF-HIS-MIND-AND-SOUL**

Partner-of-His-Mind-and-Soul-Lírya looked at him with such pride-mixed-happiness that he felt he would burst with the emotion that radiated from her mind.

She smiled warm and wide, and her eyes shone with moisture. _Shruikan, _Dear _Shruikan… I have no words to express my feelings right now. I'd never have dreamed of such an honour._ _I,… _All that other emotions previously hidden from him now flowed freely through their invisible-mind link.

Shruikan let gratitude flow back, and with it some mild irritation. It still felt strange when he talked with his mind. He was unsure of how he was supposed to send his message for Lírya to understand.

He wanted to tell her that he was _here_, was_ her_ dragon, and that she _was_ a Rider. She should stop fretting about what might not have been.

Lírya understood clearly enough. She tipped her head sideways, looking embarrassed, and mumbled, _Sorry. _She clearly was having as hard a time as he was adjusting to the new changes. It occurred to Shruikan that she was very young compared to Ancient-Dragon-Umaroth and the other two-legs-elves in the clearing, although she was older than him. Her eyes had a good-natured glint of enthusiasm that somewhat lacked in her other, probably older companions.

Umaroth waited patiently, unmoving as he sat with his long, pointed ivory talons splayed out over the brown-flat-dusty-ground. When their invisible-inaudible-mind-talking came to a halt, he turned to them and said, _It is time I sent word of your union to Doru Araeba and arranged for you to have a mentor. You will train to be a full Dragon and Rider in Vroengard, the island of the Riders._

Shruikan tried to look as interested as possible. However, as much as he respected this old dragon, he could not completely hide his discomfort from leaking though. Hunger gnawed at his belly.

Umaroth gave an amused snort. _Of course, little one. It is to be expected, after the first early struggles of Life. I will take you to the Dragon's Keep, where you may have your meal. I will arrange for some fresh meat to be brought there._

Shruikan was relieved to find that Umaroth was not in the least annoyed, but rather warm, on the contrary. It seemed he had expected him to give his complaint sooner or later. Although veiled behind mask of blank-neutral-mind-cloud, Shruikan still sensed an underlying joy of attending to the first few moments of a new member of his kin from the old dragon.

_You are better than most hatchlings, _Umaroth observed. _Some demand for food the very moment they emerge from within their egg shells. I am pleased to know that you do not need to be disciplined on these matters. I was rather getting tired of having hatchlings completely ignore me in the search to sate their appetite. One even tried to eat its Rider, though that is a rare exception, I must say._

Shruikan felt warm all over at being praised by Umaroth, however minor. He liked being told that he was better than others. He only wished he was the _best_, not just better. Umaroth seemed mildly amused by Shruikan's happiness. Thoughtfulness flicked through the old dragon's mind, and Shruikan wondered if he was remembering his own childhood, or deciding who the most suitable Dragon-Rider-mentor for him would be. He also wondered about how many times Umaroth had seen a dragon hatch from his egg, and how many other dragons there were besides him.

The thought was new to him; he hadn't considered the possibility that there were other dragons in the world beside him and Umaroth. Right now, the clearing seemed like the whole world to him.

After exchanging a brief word with a two-legs-elf behind Lírya, Umaroth took leave.

The huge white dragon unfurled his pale-see-through-wings, stretching them overhead in a high arc. After a brief pause, like a cat gathering its haunches, they beat down on the air – sending a blast of wind across the clearing that knocked Shruikan off his feet – and made a huge leap that rippled through his powerful hind legs and rocked the ground.

Then Ancient-Dragon-Umaroth was gone.

The two-legs-elves watched the white dragon disappear into the pale-blue-endless-depth-sky before they too took leave. A young two-legs-elf walked up to Lírya, congratulating her. Shruikan, after sniffing at him curiously – which, though rather ashamed to admit, he had been dying to do ever since he first saw Lírya – decided he must be her friend. He gave the elf a friendly blink.

The two-legs-elf returned his friendly gesture, accompanied by a curt motion. He seemed to twist his front five-claws-paw in the air in front of him – to Shruikan it looked both strange and graceful. He sent a query towards Lírya's mind. With a friendly sideways glance, she said, _He's greeting you. It's a sign of respect among the elves._

Shruikan was impressed. Lírya seemed to be managing both their mental conversation and her physical one with her elf-friend without difficulty. Shruikan didn't think he'd be able to do that. Not in a while, at least. But it was worth a try. Maybe he'd try later, with Lírya. As for being shown respect, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. First of all, he didn't quite understand what respect was about. Had he done something so remarkable that it awed the elves? He highly doubted that. Maybe he should try copying the elf.

Lírya seemed highly amused at the thought. _No, _she said. _Dragons do _not _bow. No dragon bows to an elf, unless there is a highly rare situation where they are required to bow. All elves respect the dragons. – That means every dragon, including you. _

Her answer made Shruikan more confused than ever. Why? Why did elves have to respect dragons? _I'll explain everything to you, later. Till then, ask me if you don't know what to do. In any cases, for this time, you _don't _bow. _She said firmly.

Shruikan liked Lírya's straightforwardness. Listening to her and her elf-friend's conversation was so confusing. Why did the elves need to use such roundabout words to describe what they wanted? Why couldn't they just say it straight, like Lírya or Umaroth? He was told not to bow. So then, what was he supposed to do? He felt he had to do something.

In the end, after a long, awkward pause, he released a puff of smoke from his snout as a friendly sign, though he wasn't so sure if the elf understood. He simply blinked at Shruikan, then gave another dip of his head. After that, Shruikan shuffled his wings and stared down to study his pointed ivory talons.

When the elf, too, – after a short but friendly conversation – was gone, Shruikan sent a message urging Lírya to take him to the Dragon's Keep. She nodded and, still smiling, turned to walk towards the trees. Shruikan clumsily clawed his way down the large, rounded rock he seemed to be on. Also in doing so, he haughtily nosed off the broken remains of his egg shell, proud that he no longer needed its harbour. He slipped and bumped near the end, but nonetheless refused Lírya's offer to help. He was a dragon. He was not about to be coddled like a fragile egg.

He landed ungracefully on his chin, his legs splayed out. He scrambled up with his small talons dug into the forest floor and shook the dust off his scales. He waddled after Lírya.

She hadn't walked five steps ahead yet, but the distance between them seemed much longer to him. With each step she took, it seemed that their connection grew fainter. Suddenly afraid, Shruikan waddled faster, tail dragging tiny gouges into the soft earth. Small brown leaves got stuck in his tail spikes as he went, collecting dust and dirt.

As soon as he realised that, he lifted his tail clear of the leaves and shook it till he was sure that no dust remained. His face burning, he hurried on.

It felt like ages before he and Lírya finally reached the edge of the clearing. Shruikan was exhausted. He panted, tongue lolling, tail drooping again.

_Can you see the forest path over there? The Keep is just a little further off from the end of the path, on the northern edge of Ellesméra, _Lírya explained to him.

_Ellesméra?_ _That _was definitely something new, if everything was.

_It's the elvish citadel._

_Ohh. _What's a citadel? Shruikan thought privately.

_Don't worry, I'll teach you everything you need to know _right _now, when we get to the Keep, _Lírya said again in a soothing tone. _The rest is left for us to learn from our new mentors._

Shruikan wondered why she was going to tell him later if he needed to know about it now, but was too tired to argue. He simply followed her through the huge, towering trees in the direction she was heading.

Another immeasurable length of time passed before they reached the forest path.

During that time, he stopped to catch his breath in increasingly frequent intervals, but Lírya never seemed to mind, or at least did not complain. Shruikan was so tired by then that his feet were unsteady. He nearly tripped over his tongue several times during the trip through the forest.

When they finally _did_ reach the pathway, Shruikan stared, dumbstruck, at a bare strip of ground which seemed to stretch on forever into the distance. Was he supposed to walk all the way to the end of _that_? How did all the elves and the other dragons manage that?

_I don't know. I've never seen a dragon hatchling before, _Lírya said simply. He realised that he'd left his mind open again for her to hear.

To be honest, he didn't bother to hide his thoughts. He was far too tired to care. Besides, Lírya was his Rider. He guessed he was supposed to share every thought with her at least from what Umaroth had told him. – Or wasn't he?

_All I know is that this path is quite long, even for my standards, and that you're too tired to continue. _

_I'm not, _He retorted.

_Are you sure?_

_Yes._

But as Shruikan stared down the endless forest path, he realised she was right. He could barely manage to stay upright, much less walk.

_Do you… need a lift? _Lírya asked.

A beam of orange sunlight shone on his face from between the trees, and he realised that the sun had _moved_. It was a darker shade now, and its reddish tint was reflected off his tiny black scales so that they glittered like many-edged brown crystals.

_Do you need a lift?_

With a growl, Shruikan gave in.

* * *

Oh, btw I'm very sorry if you're waiting for the continuation, but I'll probably only be able to update once a month, at random intervals.

Please review. ;) Flamers and questions are welcome, too.

And please do one of the following if you've spotted any mistakes:

1. Please tell me

2. Ignore it. Anyway I'll notice eventually. :)

And thanks for reading. I just hope I can update it soon, if anything just for the sake of Time's precious head. XP


	3. The Dragon's Keep

Hais! :)

I've been overseas without internet for the past three weeks, sorry for not updating my story for a long time. This one took some time to write, what with all the exams and homework but once I got into holiday it wasn't too hard. :D I've checked this myself, but there still may be some mistakes - sorry, please ignore them, or I'd also appreciate if you could point them out for me. ;3

I'll not frustrate you with any more babble. Enjoyy.

- Oh wait, one more thing. Watch Shruikan's little emotional dramas. ;D

(Disclaimer: I don't own Shruikan or Ellesméra - nor Umaroth, or the Inheritance Cycle. Only Lírya and Cwolen are OCCs, currently.)

* * *

**Chapter 3 – THE DRAGON'S KEEP**

A large drop of cold-wet-water fell on his snout.

Shruikan looked up in surprise to see large puffy slabs of dull-wet-heavy-grey hanging low in the sky. A loud, deep-rolling-boom echoed from somewhere high above. _What's happening?_

_It's raining, _Lírya said, staring up at the sky too. _We should hurry._

_Rain?_

_Later. I'm going to run, so watch out._

_Wha? –_

Lírya tightened her arm slung around him. He was squashed uncomfortably against her side, and he gave an annoyed half-growl. Then Lírya leapt forward, and he was left with no breath to finish his growl.

She flew down the path in long strides, each footstep light as it landed. Shruikan watched the trees rush past in a green-muddled-brown blur. Cold-damp-musky-air whipped his face. He shut his inner eyelids to protect them from the stinging chill. The tip of his snout stung from the cold.

The cold wind buffeted his small-crumpled-damp wings, drying them, unfolding them. Slowly, tentatively, he stretched his crumpled wings.

The strong-cold-whistle-wind pushed them out. They fanned out on either side of him, fully-formed and translucent. He stared at them, awestruck. His eyes were wide open again, unheeding of the stinging wind in his pride and awe.

Now he realised he looked like Umaroth; proud and powerful and regal. He might not be as wise or strong as Ancient-Dragon-Umaroth, but he would be one  
day. He felt the strength of his race in the fiery blood that coursed through his veins. He felt the wild, powerful wind in his wings, and felt that he could fly over anything no matter how high, up to the highest peaks of the sky, even past the sun and the stars and forever higher. He felt the pride of being part of a race so ancient and powerful as his, the only race that could harness the wind, unbroken and wild, the strength of the fire that burned the sun and the earth and in every living being.

He was powerful. He was a dragon.

And then he looked at Lírya. He looked at her loping, sinewy strides, her strong, lithe movements, her slim, elegant form. He felt her depthless joy and love, and was proud to have her as his rider.

_Lírya. Partner-of-my-mind-and-soul._ _My Rider._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-

That night, Lírya arrived with him tucked under her cloak, slightly shivering but still feeling cheerful.

Silence blanketed the forest, the constant patter-pound-trickles both dull and serene.

He tentatively pushed his snout out from the folds of soft-thick-warm-fabric, and immediately recoiled when it met an icy stream of heavy rain. He settled for peeking out from between a gap in the thick folds.

As Lírya approached the Dragon's Keep, yellow-warm-glow-lights lit the dark windows. She dashed up to the entrance and called out loudly.

As she waited outside the entrance, Shruikan studied the _Keep_ – he'd never seen one before, but he decided he liked it. At least, it looked dry enough. Its main part was composed out of the smooth-thick-massive-trunks of the largest trees he had seen yet. They were so large that he had to crane his neck to look at even the bases of their immense braches. He longed to have even a fleeting glimpse of the branch-tip-treetops, but he immediately dismissed the thought as impossible. But perhaps later he might give a try, when it stopped _raining_. For the meantime he resigned himself to wait with Lírya while studying more details of the Keep.

The _windows _were large dark, roundish holes around the top ends of the trunks, and the entrance was a massive square hole where another huge tree should have stood in line. The thick smooth-silver-white trunks all stood in a neat, ominous row, forming a perfect circle in the centre of the huge clearing he was now in. Their gold-thin-delicate leaves were scattered to cover the forest floor in a thick yellow-gold carpet. Shruikan could even hear the faint sound of bubbling water from somewhere within the structure, but he didn't long for that right now – he despised it. He'd definitely had enough of water for one day.

As he looked closer, he could faintly see the intricate vine-carve-patterns of wood around the dark-round-hole-windows and around the entrance. The lined trees merged together to form one solid, smooth-silver-white structure which stood out from its forest background. Till then, he'd only seen brown-muddled-green-muddled-grey trees, so he wondered why these trees were different.

When he tried asking Lírya, she simply stated, _They're silver birches._ That confused Shruikan even more, but he thought she sounded distracted and decided to stay quiet. It occurred to him that might have been what Umaroth had told him about him earlier, but he didn't really see the significance of it. Any dragon with any sense would keep quiet in this situation.

They waited in silence, the relentless rain pouring down over them.

Presently, a slender figure melted out of the shadows of the entrance, hurrying towards them. Shruikan immediately decided it was a two-legs-pointed-ears-elf, too.

He stole a final glance at the outside of the Keep, and he thought of the many things he had yet to discover about it.

Yes, there was more. Much more. So much more there was for him to see, to remember, to explore and ponder. And when he had seen every aspect of the Keep, there would still be more things to explore, an endless array of things in the world. Always more things, new and waiting for him to see.

He snorted. Sometimes, like now, he surprised himself with his own bursts of emotion.

Then, ushered in by the Dragon-Keep-two-legs-elf, Lírya rushed into the waiting shelter of the Keep entrance, and he saw no more of the silver-white walls that gleamed wet in the night.

Sheltered from the chill and rain, the atmosphere was thick-warm-moist. Shruikan stuck his snout out from under the cloak, curious. The air smelled luke-warm-musky, with an overhanging scent he could only describe as stale forest scents. It smelled of earth-muddled-moss-muddled-dew, and fragrant thick-musky-wood-scent. Pale orange-yellow light permeated the interior of the Keep.

Lírya shivered slightly, and a drop of cold-wet-water dripped from a loose strand of her bright-star-silver hair. Shruikan growled as it hit his nose.

He retreated back under the warm-dry-safety-shelter of Lírya's cloak.

After a moment's hesitation, he peeped out again, this time fully under cover. Lírya glanced down at him, and a smile lit her features when she caught two miniature round orbs of intelligent ice-blue glittering underneath her bundle of cloak.

Shruikan studied the Dragon-Keep-two-legs-elf, who Lírya hurriedly informed him was a She. She was slightly shorter than Lírya, but slender and muscular. Unlike Lírya's, her hair was night-black-silk, bound back into a tapering tail. She wore thick-brown-stiff-animal-skin-clothes, which decidedly smelled like deer.

_Leather,_ Lírya told him, _made from deerskin._

_Ah._

'Atra esterní ono thelduin,' Lírya said to the Dragon-Keep-two-legs-elf-woman, touching her lips with two fingers. _May good fortune rule over you._

'Atra du evarínya ono varda,' replied the Dragon-Keep-two-legs-elf-woman, mimicking Lírya's gesture. Her voice was strong and clipped.

'Welcome to the Dragon's Keep, my name is Cwolen of House Miolandra. I assume you are Lírya?'

'Yes. This is Shruikan, my… Dragon.' _Shruikan, meet Cwolen._

Cwolen looked closely at Shruikan, who fidgeted uncomfortably under her steady, unwavering gaze.

Cwolen's eyes softened. 'Well met, Shruikan-finiarel.' She gave a small bow. To Lírya, she said, 'We were expecting you to arrive somewhat earlier. Did you encounter any problems on your way here?'

'No. Everything was fine.' Lírya replied, and Shruikan gave an affirmative growl. Lírya glanced at him. 'Shruikan… insisted on walking here himself.'

Shruikan released a puff of grey-fluffy-mist-smoke.

He pushed his horny head out, and twisted around to look at Lírya. She met his eyes, and he blinked at her.

She blinked back and bobbed her head slightly, which Shruikan promptly interpreted as a yes. He wriggled his hindquarters till he was free of the cloak-fabric, then rocked back on his haunches and launched out into the brightness of the Keep.

But, as usual, thing didn't go so well. One of his hooked-claw-ivory-talons got caught in the folds, and he slipped and tumbled out awkwardly onto the fluffy-hay-smelling-floor.

Cwolen surprised Shruikan by giving out a high, ringing laugh.

At the sound of her laughter, Lírya also started to laugh, in a voice that sounded like bird-song and stream-water and wind, as clear as mountain air. Shruikan's heart soared at the sound of it – it seemed to make the air shimmer with pure mirth and joy. It seemed to seep into his own emotions, and he was flushed with the mere happiness in the sound of her laughter. It made him want to roar in a voice that shook the earth with triumph and take to the sky in a single, enormous leap.

The earth was bright and golden and bursting with joy. He sat up on the floor, wriggling his hindquarters to rid himself of hay, and almost immediately fell back down, giddy with happiness. Elated, his heart laughed with her, and for the first time he discovered that he _could _laugh, two-legs or four.

And then suddenly it was over, as if the bubble of joy had burst, and the world was cold and colourless once more. Even the warm yellow glow of the Keep's interior seemed drained and bleached, and his scales seemed duller than before. He stood on the ground once more, small and insignificant.

'You have a very spirited dragon here. He brings great promise.' Cwolen smiled warmly at him. 'Come. I expect you are hungry. We have your meal prepared.' She motioned towards Lírya. 'Follow me, if you please.'

Shruikan let Lírya pick him up from the grey-ridgy-tree-root-ground again. He'd had enough of walking now. He scrambled up onto her round-pointed-bony-shoulder.

Lírya carried him, led by Cwolen, further into the birch-wall-Dragon-Keep. Shruikan found that he could see much better from higher up on Lírya's shoulder. He decided this was the perfect perch for him whenever he had to go round with Lírya. After a moment's indecision he hid the thought from her, hoping she hadn't noticed.

He sniffed. He was a dragon. He wasn't going to expect anyone to carry him around.

Delicate walls seemingly woven out of distorted birch roots divided the interior of the Keep. Shruikan experimentally pushed his snout into a wall as Lírya passed one, and gave a surprised snort when it slid off smoothly.

_Weird. _Trees with frictionless hides seemed somewhat unnatural.

Lírya acknowledged his confusion. _It _is _artificial. I'll tell you about it later._

Shruikan gave an annoyed growl in response. _Later, later, later. _He was tired of waiting. They had all the time in the world – why couldn't she tell him everything now?

_Everything is both a vague and vast subject._

_Huh?_

_Never mind._

He growled. Lírya sighed, but she said nothing.

Cwolen stopped, and said to Lírya, 'Wait here.' She slipped behind a smooth-tree-root-wall, and Shruikan stared curiously after her.

He gave a soft snort. Lírya nodded and set him down on the ground. He unsteadily got to his feet, but they wobbled and gave way under him. He fell down with an ungraceful splat. Lírya laughed softly, and he released an annoyed puff of floating-wispy-grey-smoke from his nostrils. He struggled back onto his feet.

Lírya sat down on the ground next to him, staring around at the Keep. Shruikan also looked up. The top of the Keep was also covered by the same smooth-tree-weaving. The massive branches of the birch trees wove together in twisting masses to form a single, domed roof overhead. _I don't get it, _Shruikan said slowly. He was only beginning to learn the two-legs-pointed-ears' strange language. _Where's everyone?_

_Not many dragons visit Ellesmera nowadays. Only Umaroth is currently visiting, I think._

_Oh._

_Aren't you disappointed? You were looking forward to meeting other dragons._

_No, _he growled. He decided he needed to practice hiding his thoughts from Lírya. Then he sat down and started to hum as Lírya absently scratched the leathery underside of his jaw.

Dragon-Keep-elf-woman-Cwolen soon returned, carrying an earthenware tray with her. Shruikan was immediately back on his feet again. An enticing aroma wafted from the tray. He craned his head, but was unable to see the source of the smell. _Smells good, _he remarked to Lírya. She shrugged with a small smile.

_It's your first meal._

Shruikan snorted. _Not my last._

Cwolen set the brown-grey-earth-tray down beside him. He eagerly sniffed at it. He'd almost forgotten how hungry he was, but now it came back to him in great waves of ferocity. _Wait, _Lírya said, before he could start towards it.

_Why? What's wrong?_

_Nothing's wrong. But it's rude._

_Oh._

He tried to sit still as Dragon-Keep-Cwolen explained in brief words, albeit with a measure of fidgeting and involuntary sniffing. 'The fowl was provided by Umaroth-elda. He arrived earlier this day and informed us of your Bonding.'

Lírya dipped her head. 'Then he has our most gracious thanks. Is he at hand?' She barely seemed to acknowledge Shruikan's silent urgings to hurry.

'No. He left some time ago. But do not worry; you shall see him again.'

'Thank you.' Lírya dipped her head again, slightly. Then she smiled. _Go on._

_It took you long enough. _Shruikan moved up to the tray and snapped a bite off the pale-moist-glistening-meat. It was soft – slightly chewy, just right, and it tasted good, succulent, though slightly stale. Spicy, rich flavours spread out on his tongue. He blinked, licked his lips, and immediately proceeded to gorge on the remaining pieces.

Several minutes later, he had almost finished the pile of soft-rich-chewy-meat. By now the nagging in his belly had quieted, and he was quite content to savour the last few tasty morsels without hurry, while thinking about all the mysteries today. Dragon-Keep-Cwolen had left, after seeing that they needed nothing else. Shruikan began to reach towards yet another cut-meat-piece, then paused. He decided that Lírya must be hungry too, since _he_ had been. He blinked and cocked his head enquiringly at Lírya. For a moment she looked surprised, then she shook her head lightly.

_No thank you. It's okay, you can finish it._

He hesitated, then shrugged and snapped it up.

_I know it must be strange for you, but we don't eat meat._

_We?_

_The elves, I mean._

Shruikan wondered why the two-legs-pointed-ears wouldn't eat something this good, when there seemed to be no reason not to. But maybe there was. He didn't understand Lírya's explanation, and trying to understand it confused him even more. Why would the elves refuse to eat what they needed? He paused again, staring at the last piece of his tasty square meal, then shrugged again and ate it.

To him it didn't matter – or at least, not yet. Having finished his meal, he promptly curled up beside Lírya and laid his head on his black-scaled-paws. He hummed contentedly when she gently scratched his scaly side. The soft splash-patter-drip of the rain outside slowly lulled his excitement of the day, and he realised how tired he was. He closed his eyes.

He didn't understand everything, but it didn't seem to matter right now. Right now, all that mattered was himself, Partner-of-His-Mind-and-Soul-Lírya and the night.

* * *

Thanks so much for reading, I really hope you found it worth the while. Please review! ;3


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